Gear

The GunLink team spent the day before the official opening of SHOT Show 2018 walking the grounds of the Boulder City Pistol and Rifle Club, where we were able to handle many new firearms from well known, big name manufacturers as well as new companies trying to get their name out there. While many companies had completely new weapons, it still seems that the firearm industry is leaning towards “high-end” modifications of existing platforms. Some of the offerings were fairly innovative, showcasing the fruits of lengthy R&D processes while others made small improvements on existing platforms to enhance the shooting experience.

Franklin Armory ReformationSome of the biggest buzz at SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range surrounded Franklin Armory’s new Reformation line. Franklin kicked off the hubbub a couple of weeks ago with a mysterious press release boasting a new AR15 with an 11.5″ barrel and a Magpul SL stock. Big deal, right? We’ve all seen SBRs before. The catch was that Franklin Armory said that the Reformation was not a rifle (or a shotgun) and, despite the diminutive size coupled with a regular stock, is not subject to NFA regulations or taxes.

After picking our way through the crowd gathered around the Franklin shooting bay, we got some trigger time on the display model, outfitted with the short barrel, adjustable Magpul stock, Franklin’s BFSIII binary trigger, and magazines loaded with standard 5.56 ammo. Taken together, this blew many of the theories about how it escaped NFA purview, but the company reps wouldn’t give out any more details until tomorrow’s press conference at their booth on the show floor.

Mag-Fed Shotguns – Mossberg 590M and Remington 870DMMossberg’s domestic competitor, Remington, may have beaten Mossberg to the punch with last month’s announcement of the 870DM, an update to their popular pump-action shotgun to feed from a detachable magazine, but we think that Mossberg came out on top in the execution department with their new 590DM. Full disclosure, we are Mossberg fans out of the gate, preferring the 500 platform over the 870 in most regards.

Remington’s edge came with the announcement of a wider variety of models of the 870DM, including a Magpul equipped, camo thumb-hole, hardwood, tactical, and stubby non-NFA TAC-14 models that will accept Remington’s in-house built single-stack magazines in 3- and 6-round capacities. Continue reading →

What will the largest firearms industry trade show bring us this year?

The biggest show of its kind in the industry is just over a month away, with the 2018 iteration of SHOT Show going on from Tuesday, January 23 through Friday, January 26 in the Sands Expo center in Las Vegas. Not only will our team be there to cover the latest and greatest firearms and gear innovations from the show floor, we will also get to share our hands-on experiences with guns and gear again during the invite-only Industry Day at the Range from Boulder City the day before the show officially opens.

Be sure to keep an eye here on the GunLink Blog, as well as the GunLink Forums for news leading up to, during, and after the show, and follow us on our social media outlets, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for live updates, photos, video, and more. Sign up now for a free GunLink Forums account to join in the discussion during the event, share your opinions of what the past year of development is bringing to the industry, and to let us know what you want to see more (or less) of in our coverage.

Our week-long coverage of the much anticipated annual event is made possible in part by our coverage partners, who we thank for their involvement and support of new and evolving media platforms. We greatly appreciate their help in fostering the new environment which allows immediate access to the latest from the industry rather than having to wait for news and rumors to trickle through the traditional print timelines or wait longer still for products to hit shelves before laying eyes on them. Continue reading →

It’s that time again – continuing the monthly adventure from the GunLink Blog and in the TacPack thread on the GunLink forums, we are here to spill the beans on the latest subscription box from TacPack – a monthly delivery of an assortment of tactical gear, accessories, gun parts, knives, and more.

October’s box has is here and this post has the dish on what kind of goodies are in it. Let us know what you think in the comments below. We’ll replace the main spoiler alert photo in this post with a photo of the gear soon once everyone else has a chance to open theirs.

Details of the October TacPack contents from the card included in the box are below. Watch the TacPack thread on the GunLink Forums for more details and a review of the contents. Continue reading →

As we mentioned previously on the GunLink Blog and in the TacPack thread on the GunLink forums, we signed up for a subscription to the TacPack subscription box – a monthly delivery of an assortment of tactical gear, accessories, gun parts, knives, and more.

September’s box has is here and this post spills the beans on what kind of goodies are in it. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Details of the September TacPack contents from the card included in the box are below. Watch the TacPack thread on the GunLink Forums for more details and a review of the contents once we get a chance to check them out. Continue reading →

The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) commends the House Committee on Natural Resources for markup and passage of H.R. 3668, the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act. Under the successful leadership of Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA), the SHARE Act now moves to the full U.S. House of Representatives.

“Today marks an important step in protecting the Second Amendment freedoms of America’s hunters and sportsmen and strengthening our outdoor heritage,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA-ILA. “The SHARE Act will cut burdensome red tape that restricts millions of hunters and sportsmen.”

The bill secures access to Federal public lands for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting and includes the Hearing Protection Act (HPA). The HPA is an important safety-oriented aspect of the bill that will help protect the hearing of America’s hunters by eliminating expensive and excessive regulations on suppressors. Other key provisions include:

Securing the future of hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting by increasing access to federal public lands.

Strengthening protections for carrying firearms on land managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Removing the undefined and antiquated “sporting purposes test”, which opens the door to arbitrary ammunition bans.

Returning wildlife management of the gray wolf back to states adversely affected by rising populations.

“I would like to thank Chairman Rob Bishop and Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock for their leadership and critical roles in ensuring committee passage of the SHARE Act. Thanks to their efforts, we are one step closer to the day that all Americans will have better access to our outdoor heritage and the tools that ensure the safety of hunters and sportsmen alike,” concluded Cox.

As we mentioned previously on the GunLink Blog and in the TacPack thread on the GunLink forums, we signed up for a subscription to the TacPack subscription box – a monthly delivery of an assortment of tactical gear, accessories, gun parts, knives, and more.

The August Box has arrived and this post covers what is in it. If you are a subscriber and don’t want the surprise to be spoiled, don’t keep reading. We’ll take down the spoiler alert and switch to the regular TacPack blog post format after a few days once everyone else has had a chance to open theirs.

Details of the August TacPack contents from the card included in the box are below. Watch the TacPack thread on the GunLink Forums for more details and a review of the contents. Continue reading →